Neville reps 'The Boot' in border battle

Neville’s Spencer Brooks rushes for a touchdown against Ruston. The Tigers and Longview have met twice on the football field under Mickey McCarty, with the Lobos winning both games.(Photo: EMERALD MCINTYRE/ THE NEWS-STAR)Buy Photo

Worlds collide on Saturday night at Independence Bowl Stadium when the Neville Tigers line up against the Longview Lobos of Texas.

On one end of the field you have Texas, known throughout the country for the quality — and its commitment — to high school football. Louisiana's version of the game doesn't come with the pomp and circumstance that its neighbor to the west does, but per capita, there's more players from 'The Boot' in the NFL than any other state in America.

Neville coach Mickey McCarty said interstate match-ups like this are what makes participating in the Battle on the Border in Shreveport a highlight for the teams and fans.

"It doesn't affect the game very much but it'll be fun for folks to talk about leading up to it," said McCarty, who is bringing Neville to the event for the second consecutive year after beating Class 5A state champion Acadiana 35-28 in 2013.

"When you have two states that care about football as much as Texas and Louisiana going against each other there's some pride there and plenty of bragging rights at stake," McCarty added.

The two programs are familiar with each other in more ways than one — even down to the makeup of the coaching staffs. Longview coach John King is a Pat Collins protégé who spent time on his staffs at West Ouachita and Ouachita before making the move to east Texas. Neville has played Longview twice under McCarty, with the Lobos (0-2) winning both match-ups, so the coach isn't putting much credence into the program's worst start since 1963.

"They whipped us in both games so we know what those guys are all about," McCarty said. "I was hoping they'd be 2-0 when we got them, but they've played a tough opening schedule and came up just short in both games. They'll be hungry for victory that's for sure."

Longview's two losses came courtesy of Lufkin and John Tyler — the No. 1 and No. 5 ranked teams respectively Texas power rankings — but had several prominent player suspended against Tyler due to an off-field incident.

"We're not hitting the panic button because we understand we've played some really good teams, but there is a since of urgency around our team," King said. "Neville is pretty similar to the teams we play schematically but the problems they present with personnel are completely different. They have maybe the best front-seven on defense I've seen in high school football."

McCarty sees some of the same traits in Longview that his own team has. They're both fast and physical.

"We may mirror each other more than any other team in some of the blocking schemes that we use are similar and they also play a 4-2-5 defense," McCarty said. "It's kind of like playing a good playoff team where you aren't too familiar with them but you better prepare well."

Through two games, Longview has relied primarily on fullback Marquies Hunter, who ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns against Tyler.

McCarty left Garrett Stadium pleased with the effort in Neville's 47-7 whitewashing of Ruston, but still found plenty of things that he wants to get cleaned up, specifically some penalties that kept Ruston's lone touchdown drive alive.

"We did some uncharacteristic things in that regard that kept us on the field and of course there are always some technique issues in any opener that can be corrected," McCarty said. "We'll address those this week and get ready for Longview."

Last week: Neville beat Ruston 47-7, Longview lost to John Tyler 41-25

Who/What to Watch: Neville quarterback J.T. Jackson threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns on eight completions against Ruston, while speedster Kavontae Turpin racked up 199 all-purpose yards and three scores.

Get in the game: Longview relies primarily on fullback Marquies Hunter but also features Baylor commitment JaMycal Hasty.